Ladder.



No. 888,383. PATENTED MAY 19, 1908.

A. S. ASG'H.

LADDER.

APPLIOATION FILED APR.6.1907.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALEXANDER S. ASOH, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

LADDER.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER S. Ason, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New York, borough of Manhattan, in the county and State of New York, have invented a new and Im roved Ladder, of which the following is a ful clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to certain improvements in ladders, and more particularly to that type of ladder adapted to be supported at the upper end upon a track or runway, and soconnected thereto that the ladder may be freely moved along the track or set at any desired angle thereto.

The object of the invention is to provide means ada ted to be secured to any ordinary ladder, 2t11 whereby the latter may be used in the manner above indicated.

The invention consists in certain features of construction and combination of parts, all of which will be fully set forth hereinafter and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures, and in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of a ladder provided with my improved supporting mechanism, the ladder being shown in its suspended position; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the parts illustrated in Fig. 1, the ladder being shown as resting upon the floor and ready for use; Fig. 3 is a side elevation on an enlarged scale of the parts constituting my improved supporting means, a portion thereof being shown in section; Fig. 4 is a vertical section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3; and Fig. 5 is a transverse section on the line 55 of Fig. 3.

My improved supporting device is adapted for use in connection with any ordinary form of ladder having side bars or members 10 and 11, connected together by a plurality of rungs or treads 12, and is designed for supporting the upper end of such-a ladder from an overhead track or runway 13.

In the form illustrated in the drawings, the track is formed of two bars held parallel at a definite distance apart by suitable supports 14, and mounted to travel upon this track Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 6, 1907.

Patented May 19, 1908.

Serial No 366,666.

are a plurality of rollers 15 connected together to form a small truck or car. Preferably these rollers are four in number and are rotatably mounted upon two axles 16, 16, which latter are connected together by two vertically disposed plates 17. The axles preferably pass through the ends of the plates, as indicated in Fig. 3, and the portion of each plate intermediate its ends is curved outward to form a vertical centrally-dis osed passage for the reception of a swivel be t 18. The latter is provided with any suitable form of head or nut upon its upper end, whereby it cannot be withdrawn from below, and to the lower end of this swivel bolt is secured the mechanism connected to the ladder.

To each of the opposite side members or bars 10 and 11 of the ladder, I secure a tube 19 adjacent the upper end thereof and held substantially parallel. to the side members by means of a plurality of bands 20 rigidly secured to the tubes and adapted to be bolted or screwed to the side members of the ladder. Extending through each of the two opposite tubes 19 and preferably formed of a single piece of tubing, 1 provide an inverted U- shaped member 21. This member telescopes with the tubes and is longitudinally movable in respect thereto, the lower end of each of the branches of the U-shaped member being provided with collars 22 rigidly secured thereto and adapted to prevent the removal of the member from the tubes. The member 21 is connected to the lower end of the swivel bolt 18 by a suitable universal joint, preferably formed by a collar 23 rotatably mounted, in respect to said U-shaped member midway of its connecting portion and held from longitudinal movement by pins 2 1. The collar is preferably formed of a piece of sheet metal bent to inclose the member 21, and having its free edges 26 extending substantially parallel and held at a distance apart equal to the thickness of the swivel bolt, and a single transverse bolt 25 is provided for holding the edges of the plate together and passing through an eye in the end of the swivel bolt.

In order that the ladder may be raised out of engagement with the floor and held freely suspended from the track, I provide one of the telescoping tubes 19 of the ladder with a spring catch 27 adapted to engage with a lug or shoulder 28 upon the U-shaped member 2]. at its upper end. The lower side of the lug and the co-acting side of the spring catch are preferably inclined, whereby upon raising the ladder, the catch is automatically pushed outward until it passes the lug and then engages therewith to support the weight of the ladder. In order to disengage the catch from the projection, I provide a cord or wire 29 having one end thereof in engagement with the catch, and having the other end extending to a point adjacent the lower end of the ladder and within reach of a person standing upon the floor. Adjacent the upper end of the catch, the cord or wire 29 passes through an opening in the outer end of a suitable bracket 30, whereby a downward pull on the cord or wire causes an outward movement of the catch.

In my improved ladder, the entire device is rotatably mounted in respect to the truck or body supporting the rollers 15, as the bolt 18 is freely rotatable upon a vertical aXis. The weight of the ladder is supported in the direction of the length of the swivel bolt, as.

said bolt and collar 23 secured thereto are rotatable in respect to the member 21 and ladder carried thereby. The ladder may be raised out of engagement with the floor, and when raised to a sufficient height will be automatically held in place by a spring catch 27. The ladder may then be moved along the track, and may be rotated to lie in the vertical plane of the latter, or in aplane at any desired angle thereto, inasmuch as the rotation of the ladder does not in any way serve to effect the disengagement of the spring catch from the lug or projection 28.

The ladder may thus be turned sidewise and moved along a narrow passageway, or turned to permit a person to pass by the same. The ladder may be -inclined .in either direction from the rollers, as is indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 2, inasmuch as all the parts are symmetrical. The ladder may be turned to the plane of the track and the lower end raised at will without affecting the engagement of the rollers with the track, as the. pivotally connected to the;

swivel bolt 18 is collar 28.

The ladder is capable of use in many places inaccessible to a ladder of ordinary construc 'tion, due to the large range of movement and the manner in which the parts are secured together.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. In combination, an overhead support, a depending swivel bolt carried thereby, and

a ladder journaled to said swivel bolt on an.

axis at an angle to the general direction of the swivel bolt.

2. In combination, an overhead support, a depending swivel bolt carried thereby, and a ladder connected to said swivel bolt by a universal joint.

3. In combination, an overhead support, a depending swivel bolt carried thereby and movable laterally in respect thereto, and a 'ladder' connected .to said swivel bolt by a universal joint.

4. In combination, an overhead support, a depending swivel bolt carried thereby, a member pivotally connected to said swivel bolt, and a ladder slidably connected to said member.

5. In combination, an overhead track, a depending swivel bolt sup orted thereby and movable along said trac i, a member connected to said swivel bolt by a universal joint, and a ladder slidably connected to said member.

6. In combination, an overhead support, a rotatable member suspended thereon, a lad der, slidable connections between said rotatable member and said ladder, and co-acting means independent of the rotation ofsaid rotatable member for holding the ladder in its raised and freely suspended position.

7. In combination, an overhead support, a rotatable member depending therefrom, a ladder, slidable connections between said ladder and said member, co-acting means independent of the rotation of said rotatable member for holding said ladder in its raised and freely suspended position, and manuallycontrolled means for releasing said ladder.

8. In combination, an overhead support, a carrier mounted thereon, a U-shaped tubular member connected to said carrier by a universal joint, a ladder slidably connected to said member, a spring-catch for holding the ladder in its raised position, and means connected to said catch and adapted to be manually operated for releasing the catch.

9. In combination, an overhead support, a U-shaped member connected to said support, a ladder slidably connected to said member, a spring catch for holding the ladder in its raised position, and means connected to said catch and adapted to be manually operated for releasing the catch.

10. In combination, an overhead support, a U-shaped member connected to said support and having depending branches, aladder having side bars, means for-slidably connecting the upper end of each of said bars to a branch of said U-shaped member, and coacting means carried by said ladder and member for holding the former in its raised position.

11. In combination, an overhead support, a U-shaped member connected to said support and having depending branches, a ladder having side bars, means for slidably connecting the upper end of each of said bars to a branch of said U-shaped member, oo-aoting name to this specification in the presence of means carried by said ladder and member for two subscribing Witnesses. holding the former in its raised position, and ALEXANDER S ASCH manually-operated means for releasing said 5 holding means to permit the lowering of the Witnesses:

ladder a limited distance. JOHN P. DAVIS,

In testimony whereof I have signed my CLAIR W. FAIRBANK. 

